BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Banks: Accountancy

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  if he will appoint an independent inquiry into the way banks have accounted for subprime loans;
	(2)  if he will investigate the extent of off balance sheet accounting by banks;
	(3)  what discussions he has held with the auditors of Northern Rock in connection with the company's accounting practices.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	The supervision of banks in the UK is a matter for the Financial Services Authority (FSA), acting on an independent basis. The Treasury has not held discussions with the auditors of Northern Rock on its accounting practices. The accounting treatment of assets and liabilities in banks is governed by standards proposed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and adopted by the EU. The IASB is re-examining through its consultative process the accounting standards for consolidation of exposures on a bank's balance sheet, with a paper planned for the second half of 2008. The Government, with the FSA and the Financial Reporting Council, will be involved in the development and adoption of any new or amended EU standard.

Business: Government Assistance

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which UK enterprises that have received state aid are registered on the European Commission's state aid scoreboard.

Gareth Thomas: The scoreboard is the Commission's benchmarking instrument for state aid, providing a transparent and publicly accessible source of information on the overall state aid situation in each of the EU member states and on the Commission's current state aid control activities. Thus all the state aid received by enterprises across the EU is reflected in the scoreboard, but it does not provide details of state aid received by individual enterprises.

Carbon Monoxide: Safety

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will take steps to  (a) reduce the cost and  (b) improve the availability of domestic carbon monoxide detectors with audible alarms and combined smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Gareth Thomas: The Government acknowledge the safety benefits of these items but do not consider that there is a need to intervene on pricing or availability.

Certification Officer

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what role is performed by each of the Certification Officer's employees.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 31 January 2008
	The roles of the Certification Officer's nine employees are as follows:
	one Assistant Certification Officer (who oversees the work of the office and carries out functions delegated to him by the Certification Officer such as approval of Political Fund Rules and registration of mergers),
	two Operations Managers (who oversee complaints about breach of rule and statute and deal mainly with mergers political funds, Annual Returns, Certificates of Independence and financial irregularity issues),
	two Complaints Case Managers (dealing with breach of statute and breach of rule complaints),
	one Administration Manager (who deals with Annual Returns, listing and change of names),
	two Executive Officers (administration) and
	one Administrative Officer.

Exports

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the proportion of UK businesses which did not export to other European Union member states in the latest period for which figures are available.

Gareth Thomas: Figures for the proportion of UK businesses which do not export to the European Union are not collected.
	HM Revenue and Customs publish some data on the number of companies exporting goods to the European Union as part of their quarterly regional trade statistics. The Single Market removal of customs declarations in 1993 and the subsequent successful reduction of administrative and statistical burdens on businesses mean that those numbers exclude the vast majority of exporters to the EU as they do not have to complete the Intrastat survey form. Nor do the numbers include companies who export services.

News Corporation

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2008,  Official Report, column 1631W, what plans he or his officials have to meet representatives of  (a) Virgin Media,  (b) ITV plc,  (c) Rapture Television and  (d) other interested parties in relation to the Competition Commission's report on BSkyB's acquisition of ITV plc shares.

Gareth Thomas: None. We were content that, prior to taking the decisions announced on 29 January, we had no need to receive oral representations from those parties additional to the written representations we had received from them.

Overseas Trade: China

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many representations his Department has received from British businesses and service providers on non-payment for goods and services provided to Chinese companies.

Gareth Thomas: This information is not readily available as the Department does not maintain a central record of the representations it has received on this issue. Furthermore, the Department considers that the cost of retrieving and collating this information, for an unspecified number of years, would incur disproportionate cost.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Communities and Homes Agency: Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the proposed budgets are for the  (a) Communities and Homes Agency and  (b) Office for Tenants and Social Landlords in the first full year of operation.

Caroline Flint: The Homes and Communities Agency will have a proposed programme budget of at least £4 billion in its first year of operation (2009-10). We will outline the exact budget once it is decided which delivery programmes will transfer from the Department.
	For 2009-10 we estimate that the budget for the Office for Tenants and Social Landlords will be £25 million.

Council Tax: Appeals

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what adjustments in cash terms have been made to the collection funds of each billing authority in England as a result of successful council tax appeals by the householder in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) so far in 2007-08.

John Healey: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Council Tax: Appeals

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many council tax appeals relating to England have been considered in  (a) 2005-06,  (b) 2006-07 and  (c) 2007-08 to date by the Valuation Tribunal Service; and what proportion and how many resulted in a lower council tax banding for the householder.

John Healey: The Valuation Tribunal Service (VTS) has held information centrally on the number of successful appeals since the beginning of 2006-07.
	
		
			   Number of council tax appeals received  Number of council tax appeals considered by tribunals  Percentage of considered appeals that were allowed or allowed in part 
			 2005-06 21,805 n/a n/a 
			 2006-07 27,130 5,274 12.25 
			 2007-08 (to 31 December 2007) 25,141 4,176 19.01 
			 n/a = not available 
		
	
	It is wrong to assume that all banding appeals are about reducing a property's banding. An appeal can be made on other grounds, such as how a previously single dwelling should be split up into a number of separate units (e.g. flats), and from what date the change should appear in the valuation list. The VTS does not currently keep information on whether allowing an appeal, in full or in part, results in a change of banding.

Floods: Gloucestershire

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what provision was made in the most recent local government grant settlement for local authorities in Gloucestershire to introduce flood resilience measures.

John Healey: Formula grant is an unhypothecated block grant i.e. authorities have the freedom to spend the grant on any service provided that they meet their statutory duties. For this reason, and due to the method of calculating formula grant, particularly floor damping, it is not possible to say how much grant has been provided for any particular service. It is for local authorities to set their budgets, taking into account the needs of their local community.

Home Information Packs

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many  (a) home information packs and  (b) home condition reports were commissioned in the six area trials in England and Wales prior to 1 August;
	(2)  how many  (a) home information packs and  (b) home condition reports were subsidised, in whole or in part, under the funding allocated to six area trials in England and Wales.

Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the home information packs update written ministerial statement made on 22 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 140-42WS.
	IPSOS-MORI is still in the process of finalising its conclusions and a copy of the research report will be placed in the Library of the House once the project has been finalised.

Home Information Packs

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether any assessment has been made of the level of compliance by  (a) home owners and  (b) estate agents with the requirement for a home information pack.

Caroline Flint: Local authority weights and measures authorities and the Office of Fair Trading have been given the responsibility for enforcing the Home Information Pack duties through s.l66 and s.175 of the Housing Act 2004.

Housing

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what her Department's estimate is of the additional cost to the housing market renewal programme caused by speculative buying; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps she is taking to prevent speculative buying in housing market renewal areas as referred to in the National Audit Office report on housing market renewal.

Caroline Flint: The Department does not make such estimates, chiefly because it is difficult to define exactly what is speculation.
	Pathfinders work closely with local residents and, where acquisition of property is necessary, encourage them to sell directly to the pathfinder rather than to third parties. As with other compulsory purchases, compensation arrangements also differentiate between owner occupiers and others, with those who can demonstrate residence for at least a year receiving a 10 per cent. home loss payment on top of the market value for the property, and landlords or investors receiving a 7.5 per cent. basic loss payment on top of market value.
	While it is difficult, therefore, to be precise about the extent of speculative activity, the Government and pathfinders will continue to keep this under review, although it would clearly be inappropriate to curtail residents' legitimate rights to sell.

Housing: Expenditure

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information she holds on the percentage of gross national product spent on  (a) housing and  (b) affordable social housing in each OECD country (i) in the last year for which figures are available and (ii) in 1997.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 19 November 2007
	Communities and Local Government do not hold data on the percentage of gross national product spent on  (a) housing and  (b) affordable social housing in each of the OECD countries. There are data available on the percentage of gross domestic product spent on housing by OECD countries where data are available on the OECD website. Details can be found at:
	http://stats.oecd.org/wbos/default.aspx?datasetcode=SOCX_AGG
	There are a number of drop down menus on this page that allow you to select housing expenditure in both public or private sectors.

Housing: Floods

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many residential dwellings were built within flood risk areas in England in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: It is the responsibility of local authorities to plan properly for their housing provision, on the basis of specific sites that reflect clear and informed strategies for the location of housing development, and for the infrastructure needed to service it. Of course flood risk is a major factor in deciding the location of new development and the Government's aim is to avoid inappropriate development in such areas. We have strengthened the system significantly—new planning rules introduced last year (PPS25) make clear that councils should not give the go ahead to new housing in areas where the Environment Agency advise against it. The new rules are already beginning to have an impact and it is vital that councils continue to work with the Environment Agency to ensure that new homes are safe from flooding and property sustainable for the future. Flood risk must be taken into account at all stages of the planning process. Development that would not be safe in the higher flood risk areas should be directed to areas of lower risk wherever this is practicable.
	The following table gives the information requested and relates to the period before the planning system was strengthened:
	
		
			   New dwellings built in high flood risk areas 
			 1997 13,400 
			 1998 11,700 
			 1999 12,400 
			 2000 12,100 
			 2001 11,300 
			 2002 13,000 
			 2003 14,900 
			 2004 15,200 
			 2005 13,700 
			  Notes: 1. There is an inevitable time-lag between land use change occurring and it being recorded, therefore data are constantly being updated. 2. The data in the table are based on records received from Ordnance Survey up to June 2007.  Source: Communities and Local Government completions data (2007), Source data: Land Use Change Statistics data (LUCS 22A, October 2007) 
		
	
	The definition of high flood risk areas used by Communities and Local Government is the high risk zone mapped by the Environment Agency as being at a probability of flooding, excluding the presence of flood defences, of at least one in 100 each year for river flooding and at least one in 200 for coastal flooding. High flood risk areas account for about 10 per cent. of land in England, including parts of major cities such as London.

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  to what extent a homebuyer has liability for the  (a) Homebuy Agent's and  (b) Yorkshire Building Society's equity loss if their home purchased under 32.5 per cent. Open Market Homebuy scheme is subsequently sold at less than the purchase price;
	(2)  under the 32.5 per cent. Open Market Homebuy scheme, what liability the Homebuy Agent has for  (a) their own and  (b) Yorkshire Building Society's equity loss if a property is subsequently sold for less than the original purchase price.

Caroline Flint: The information requested can be found in the booklet 'Exclusive Open Market HomeBuy Mortgage—for those eligible to buy a home under the Government's Open Market HomeBuy Scheme', a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.

Housing: Planning

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to consult hon. Members on bids for housing growth points in their constituencies submitted by local authorities.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 17 January 2008
	I look to those local authorities who have submitted expressions of interest to be growth points to consult with hon. Members as necessary. However, I am aware that an informal briefing session about potential growth points in the north-west was held in the House in December by Government office north-west, which hon. Members in relevant constituencies were invited to attend.

Housing: Renewable Energy

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what events and conferences  (a) she and  (b) other Ministers from her Department have addressed relating to (i) the construction and housebuilding industry and (ii) the renewable energy industry since July 2006.

Iain Wright: Since July 2006 Communities and Local Government Ministers have attended the following events and conferences relating to the construction, housebuilding and renewable energy industry:
	
		
			  Ministers  Event/conference details 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (18 July 2006) New Local Government Network 
			 Secretary of State—Ruth Kelly (19 July 2006) Keynote Speech at Housing Design Awards 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (21 September 2006) Official opening of the Osborne Demonstration House at the Building Research Establishment 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (10 October 2006) Speech to Housing Market Intelligence Conference 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Baroness Andrews (31 October 2006) Speech to National Skills Forum networking Event on Industry Skills for Sustainable Communities 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (1 November 2006) Keynote speech at the first Housing Corporation Gold Award conference 
			 Secretary of State—Ruth Kelly (12 December 2006) A visit to the BowZED development 
			 Secretary of State—Ruth Kelly (13 December 2006) Launch of the consultation on zero carbon new homes, "Towards Zero Carbon Development" event hosted by WWF 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (13 December 2006) The Town and Country Planning Association's "Corporate Fellows Briefing and Consultation Meeting: Climate Change Policies and Regulation" 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (22 January 2007) The Town and Country Planning Association's "Planning for Climate Change" conference 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (9 January 2007) Home Builders Federation's zero carbon homes roundtable summit 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (7 February 2007) DLA Piper's "Cooling the Planet" conference 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Baroness Andrews (20 February 2007) Speech to British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA) on Community Regeneration 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Angela Smith (8 March 2007) Speech to the Construction Products Association Council Lunch 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Angela Smith (20 March 2007) Visit to the Thamesmead Ecopark by Gallions Housing Association 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Angela Smith (22 March 2007) Jointly run conference by the Home Builders Federation and the Energy Saving Trust entitled "The House that Bjorn Built" 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (25 March 2007) Home Builders Federation AGM 
			 Secretary of State—Ruth Kelly (4 April 2007) Green Alliance summit on "Local Government and Climate Change" 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (18 April 2007) Housing Forum National Conference 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Angela Smith (26 April 2007) "Zero Carbon New Homes—Gaining clarification and exploring practical solutions" conference hosted by Construction News 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (2 May 2007) Speech at Building Futures' "Futures Fair 2007" 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (15 May 2007) Speech to BURA on climate change and Code for Sustainable Homes 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Angela Smith (15 May 2007) Royal Institute of British Architects "Zero Carbon Homes" conference 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (24 May 2007) Speech to Campaign for More and Better Homes national conference 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (6 June 2007) HBF Zero Carbon Homes Roundtable Summit 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (11 June 2007) Keynote speech at BRE's Offsite 2007 
			 Secretary of State—Ruth Kelly (19 June 2007) Keynote speech to Chartered Institute for Housing Annual Conference 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Angela Smith (21 June 2007) A visit to Testway Housing's new environmentally sustainable housing development 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (26 June 2007) The Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes annual conference 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (17 July 2007) The Local Government Association's conference on the Planning White Paper 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (17 July 2007) A seminar from the Associate Parliamentary Renewable and Sustainable Energy Group 
			 Secretary of State—Hazel Blears (6 September 2007) Speech at Great Places Housing Group Annual Reception 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (19 September 2007) National Housing Federation's annual conference 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (9 October 2007) National House-Building Council's Housing Market Intelligence conference 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (10 October) Speech to Housing Market Intelligence Conference 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (15 October 2007) The District Leaders Sounding Board event 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Iain Wright (25 October, 2007) Speech on regeneration to BURA Sustainable Communities Summit 2007 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Iain Wright (25 October 2007) BURA's "Sustainable Communities Summit: 2007 the Challenge of National Regeneration" 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (30 October 2007) Launch of WWF's Housebuilders Benchmarking report 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (30 October 2007) "Eco Towns" event hosted by the Princess Foundation 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (8 November 2007) Adelaide Wharf launch 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Iain Wright (9 November 2007) Confederation of British Industry "More Affordable? More Sustainable?" conference 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (14 November 2007) Keynote Speech to English Partnerships' Open Meeting 2007 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Baroness Andrews (14 November 2007) Berkeley Group event—Planning and Lifetime Homes 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Baroness Andrews (19 November 2007) Launch event for the Lifetime Neighbourhood's 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (22 November) Launch of the Calcutt Review of Housebuilding Delivery 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Iain Wright (29 November 2007) Housing Magazine event 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Baroness Andrews (12 December 2007) Seminar—Building Better Communities 
			 Secretary of State—Hazel Blears (4 December 2007) Keynote Speech to LGA/Energy Saving Trust Conference 'Climate Change: your council, your climate, your action' 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Iain Wright (5 December 2007) Construction Industry Council Dinner 
			 Minister for Local Government—John Healey (29 January 2008) Centre for Cities event

Key Worker Living Scheme: Police

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many police officers lived in key worker housing in  (a) England,  (b) London and  (c) each London borough in each year since 2001.

Caroline Flint: Information on members of the police service who occupied key worker housing in  (b) London and  (c) each London borough in each year since 2001 is not held centrally and can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
	In England 3,213 members of the police service have been provided with housing assistance through the Starter Home Initiative (April 2001-March 2004) and the Key Worker Living programme (March 2004-October 2007), for which a breakdown is shown as follows
	
		
			   Number 
			 2001-02 10 
			 2002-03 255 
			 2003-04 1,048 
			 2004-05 384 
			 2005-06 857 
			 2006-07 505 
			 2007-08 154 
			 Total 3,213 
		
	
	In London 1,661 members of the police service have been provided with housing assistance through the Starter Home Initiative (April 2001-March 2004) and the Key Worker Living programme (March 2004-October 2007). A detailed breakdown by year is not held centrally.

Local Authorities: Databases

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many separate items of data local authorities are required to collect for the compilation of the national indicator set.

John Healey: Following the consultation that ended on the 21 December, the Government are currently finalising the technical definitions for the national indicators. As part of this process, we are working closely with other Government Departments and key stakeholders to identify the data collections that will be required for the national indicator set, most of which are likely to be obtained from existing data returns. We anticipate that the majority of definitions will be agreed in time for implementation from April 2008.

Local Authorities: Political Impartiality

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance has been given to local authorities on the use of local authority resources and facilities to engage in political campaigning by employees of the local authority.

John Healey: Guidance with regard to the content, style, distribution and cost of local authority publicity is contained in the "Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity", issued by my Department under Section 4 of the Local Government Act 1986, as amended by section 27 of the Local Government Act 1988.

Local Government Finance: Audit Commission

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the effect on costs for local authorities of the Audit Commission's new fees structure; and what funding her Department will be giving to local authorities under the new burdens principle in relation to Audit Commission fees;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1299W, on Audit Commission: fees and charges, what estimate she has made of the audit fees for 2008-09 in  (a) absolute terms and  (b) as a percentage of those costs in 2007-08 for (i) a district council, (ii) a London borough, (iii) a unitary council, (iv) a metropolitan council and (v) a county council.

John Healey: The Audit Commission is responsible for setting the fees for audit in the local government and housing sector. Its consultation paper—'Proposed work programme and scales of fees 2008-09 and indicative fee proposals for 2009-10 and 2010-11' set out details of potential average audit fees.
	The Commission expect to take the final decision on audit fees for 2008-09 in March. Over the next three years, as the rolling programme of corporate assessments is replaced with comprehensive area assessment, with its focus on outcomes, there will be a significant overall reduction in the total costs of regulation. The Government are committed to ensuring that the net new burdens that it places on local government are fully funded.

Local Government: Publicity

Stephen Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the costs incurred by each shire county on publicity in each year since 2005-06.

John Healey: The Department does not collect information on the costs incurred on publicity by local authorities.

Mayor of London: Codes of Practice

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance  (a) her Department and  (b) the Standards Board for England have issued on the applicability of (i) the code of conduct for councillors and (ii) codes of conduct for local authority employees to the Mayor of London's senior policy advisers.

John Healey: Neither Communities and Local Government nor the Standards Board have issued guidance on the applicability of either the code of conduct for local councillors or codes of conduct for local government employees to advisers of the Mayor of London.

Non-domestic Rates: Agriculture

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department undertook the review into agricultural de-rating in England.

John Healey: The Government accepted a Lyons inquiry recommendation to review all reliefs and exemptions within business rates and the pre Budget report 2007 announced that this review had concluded, although a specific review into agricultural de-rating of business rates in England was not conducted.

Non-domestic Rates: Tax Allowances

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many civil servants in her Department worked on the Government's review of business rate reliefs and exemptions following the Lyons Inquiry.

John Healey: The review of Business rates reliefs was undertaken as part of the ongoing maintenance of the business rates system by Communities and Local Government, so no team was specifically set up for this task.

Planning

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 11 December 2007,  Official Report, column 554W, on planning, what the timetable is for the publication of the counter-terrorism supplement; and what its status will be in planning law.

Iain Wright: The Government intend to publish during the summer of 2008 the counter-terrorism supplement which will accompany planning policy guidance Safer Places. In drafting this supplement the Home Office will be consulting with key stakeholders both within Government, with industry and with professional bodies involved in planning and design.
	Government statements of planning policy must be taken into account, where relevant, in decisions on planning applications and in the preparation of planning policies. 'Planning Policy Statement 1: Delivering Sustainable Development' (PPS1) makes clear that the creation of safe and accessible environments where crime and disorder or fear of crime does not undermine quality of life or community cohesion is a key planning objectives which planning authorities should take into account. PPS1 also says that planning authorities should have regard to good practice set out in 'Safer Places—the Planning System and Crime Prevention'. The counter terrorism supplement which will accompany Safer Places will, therefore, equally be capable of being a material consideration in the determination of planning applications and in the preparation of planning policies.

Pollution

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the new burdens doctrine contained in the central-local concordat over-rides the polluter pays principle.

John Healey: When developing policies, Government consider the polluter pays principle. In introducing new policies Government are committed to ensuring the net new burdens it places on local government are fully funded—so no additional pressure is placed on council tax.

Predictors of Beaconicity

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what definition she uses of predictors of beaconicity; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: 'Predictors of Beaconicity;' was the title of a report by the Warwick Business School which looked at the factors associated with high and low levels of engagement with the Beacon Scheme. The Beacon Scheme identifies authorities and their partners that are delivering the best services to their local citizens and can share good practice.

Regional Government: Expenditure

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the gross expenditure of each regional assembly in England outside London was in the last year for which figures are available.

John Healey: Details of regional assembly gross expenditure for the year 2006-07 are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Regional assembly  Gross expenditure (£) 
			 East of England 4,350,654 
			 East Midlands 2,561,173 
			 North East 2,109,234 
			 North West 3,366,000 
			 South East England 4,316,512 
			 South West 4,761,206 
			 West Midlands 2,266,197 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 3,048,000

Regional Planning and Development: West Midlands

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what contribution to the revised West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy house building requirements would be made in  (a) Warwickshire and  (b) Worcestershire as the result of the construction of an eco-town at Long Marston.

Caroline Flint: I am unable to comment on individual proposals at this stage. The number of homes in individual proposals is indicative at this stage, but ranges between 5-20,000 in most proposals, which is in line with the eco-town criteria. We intend to publish a shortlist soon, once an individual assessment of proposals has taken place. There will be considerable opportunity for consultation before decisions on individual proposals are made.

Right to Buy Scheme: Social Rented Housing

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the likely effect on housing need if the right to buy policy is extended to registered social landlord tenants; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The Government want to widen access to home ownership and help more people, including social tenants, build up assets.
	Most registered social landlord (RSL) tenants have right to acquire or preserved right to buy. However, approximately 30 per cent. of RSL tenants do not have any right to purchase.
	Social HomeBuy was introduced as a voluntary pilot scheme in April 2006 to provide new opportunities for social tenants who do not have right to buy or right to acquire or cannot afford outright purchase, to buy a share of their rented home. 77 RSLs and nine local authorities are currently offering the pilot scheme to their tenants.
	The Government announced in December 2007 that Social HomeBuy will continue as a voluntary scheme to increase opportunities for social housing tenants to access home ownership, when the pilot period ends in March.

Seas and Oceans: Planning

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions her Department has had with officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on  (a) marine spatial planning and  (b) planning for major infrastructure developments in the marine environment.

John Healey: Officials from my Department are members of the Working Group preparing the Marine Bill. They have had detailed discussions with Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs about a range of issues, including those of concern in the question. The Planning Bill gives effect to the results of those discussions.

UK Location Strategy

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr. Prisk) of 15 January 2008,  Official Report, column 1169W, on the UK Location Strategy, if she will place in the Library a copy of the UK Location Strategy submitted to Ministers by the Geographic Information Panel.

Parmjit Dhanda: A copy of the UK Location Strategy will be placed in the Library once it has been published.

Urban Areas: Sustainable Development

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many representations she has received from residents of Worcestershire opposing the proposal to build an eco-town at Long Marston.

Caroline Flint: I am unable to comment on individual proposals at this stage. We intend to publish proposals shortly once an individual assessment has taken place. There will be considerable opportunity for consultation before decisions on individual proposals are made.

Wardens

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2007,  Official Report, column 685W, on wardens, what warden schemes are funded by local area agreements according to records held by the Government Offices for the Regions.

John Healey: Government offices for the regions do not collect information about which warden schemes are funded by local area agreements.

Wind Power: Licensing

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has for consultation between the proposed infrastructure planning commission and the proposed marine management organisation on the licensing of offshore wind farms producing over 100MW of power.

John Healey: The White Paper 'Planning for a Sustainable Future' sets out the process for decisions on development consents for renewable energy developments offshore. Those generating over 100 megawatts would be taken by the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), while those up to and including 100MW would be determined by the proposed Marine Management Organisation (MMO).
	The MMO will be able to advise the IPC on the marine aspects of these major projects, including on conditions on developments, and will also monitor and enforce compliance. The Planning Bill would give the Secretary of State a power to specify relevant statutory consultees for the pre-application and examination phases, and we will consider whether we will need to exercise this power in relation to the proposed MMO when it is created.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Driving

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on encouraging members of the armed forces to improve their driving skills through  (a) the Advanced Drivers Test and  (b) refresher driving courses; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The MOD recognises and promotes the benefits of improving driving skills to all members of the armed forces. The Department's guidance (JSP 800, Pt 5) encourages transport managers, road safety committees and road safety advisers to participate in national safe driving awards, and to develop driving skills. Any driver who has had familiarisation training on a particular vehicle but has not driven that vehicle for a period of 12 months or more, should receive refresher training.
	For many years, MOD has worked with organisations such as the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, to provide service personnel with the opportunity to take an advanced driving test. The Army provides many of its personnel with a pre-paid test voucher in order to do so.

Armed Forces: Driving

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what licence is required for military personnel in theatre to drive the  (a) Snatch land rover,  (b) WMIK,  (c) E-WMIK,  (d) M-WMIK,  (e) variants of Pinzgauer Vectors,  (f) Mastiff and  (g) Future Ridgeback vehicles.

Bob Ainsworth: MOD policy is to comply with Department for Transport Driver Licensing regulations at all times, whether on operations or not. All the vehicles listed weigh over 3.5 tonnes; therefore all drivers of these vehicles are required to hold a category C licence.

Armed Forces: Foreigners

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedures are used to return non-UK citizens serving in the armed forces to their country of origin on discharge  (a) if they have completed basic training,  (b) on completing their engagement and  (c) before they have completed their engagement.

Bob Ainsworth: Non-UK citizens wishing to join the UK armed forces travel to the UK at their own expense and we do not normally return them to their countries of origin at public expense when they are discharged. It is therefore very much a personal decision, in line with Home Office policy, as to whether non-UK citizens return to their country of origin on discharge. An individual will normally be granted 28 days upon discharge to allow time for an application for further leave to remain to be lodged, or depart from the UK. Once an application is lodged they are able to remain in the UK legally while the application is processed.
	The only exception to the rules is for Gurkhas, who are enlisted in Nepal and brought to the UK at public expense, and are now discharged in the UK and then returned to Nepal (if they wish) at public expense.
	These policies have been agreed with the Home Office in order to ensure that they are not abused. They balance recognition of service in the British Armed forces towards naturalisation with preventing its use as an improper method of entry into the UK.

Armed Forces: Housing

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 21 January 2008,  Official Report, column 1580W, on armed forces: housing, how many of the extra 30,000 single living accommodation bed-spaces planned by 2013 he expects to be  (a) new and  (b) improved bed-spaces.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 31 January 2008
	The Ministry of Defence has a target to upgrade 30,000 single living accommodation (SLA) bed-spaces to the top condition grade (grade 1) by 2013 and for budgeting purposes, it is assumed that these bed-spaces will be new build. However, existing SLA may be upgraded to grade 1 standard where it is more economic to do so.

Armed Forces: Pay

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) net paybill cost and  (b) net percentage increase to the paybill was of implementing the Armed Forces Pay Review Body recommendations in each financial year from 1996-97 to 2007-08.

Derek Twigg: Figures showing the net pay bill costs and the net percentage increases arising from the implementation of the recommendations of the Armed Forces' Pay Review Body (AFPRB) for the years 1999-2000 to 2007-08 are set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Net  pay bill cost increase  (£ million)  Net pay bill percentage increase  (percentage) 
			 1999-2000 202,000 3.50 
			 2000-01 260,000 4.60 
			 2001-02 221,686 3.73 
			 2002-03 236,347 3.94 
			 2003-04 266,000 4.30 
			 2004-05 194,985 2.89 
			 2005-06 216,056 3.10 
			 2006-07 207,924 2.99 
			 2007-08 274,681 3.90 
		
	
	The figures represent cost estimates which were produced annually to inform the deliberations of the AFPRB. They cover pay, specialist pay, those allowances that fall within the remit of the AFPRB, charges, employers' national insurance contributions and superannuation charges adjusted for past experience. The figures are net, taking into account the effects of increased receipts from food and accommodation charges. The figures do not take account of other changes to the armed forces' pay bill arising from such factors as incremental progression and promotion.
	Corresponding net pay bill figures for the implementation of the armed forces' pay award, for the years 1996-97 to 1998-99, have not been retained.

Armed Forces: Psychology

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect on recruitment and retention of psychologists for the armed forces of not having practitioners in uniform;
	(2)  how the UK's policy on uniformed psychologists in the armed forces compares with that of other NATO countries.

Derek Twigg: The Defence Medical Services employ uniformed military psychiatrists and mental health nurses. We currently assess that there is no requirement to employ uniformed clinical psychologists. In operational theatres, we deploy highly skilled and experienced uniformed mental health nurses to provide the necessary in-theatre care and treatment for our personnel.
	We employ civilian clinical psychologists as integral components of the mental health multi-disciplinary teams in our military Departments of Community Mental Health. They have a vital role in providing tertiary care for referred patients, supervision for other team members, and in the development of the service.
	It is not considered that there is a detrimental effect on recruiting and retention of not having practitioners in uniform but we always keep those matters under review.
	The MOD maintains an awareness of the practices and policies of allied nations, many of whom do employ uniformed clinical psychologists but most of whom, unlike the UK, do not have an experienced cadre of mental health nurses.

Defence

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the planned closure dates are for the UK defence sections in posts in  (a) Albania,  (b) Croatia,  (c) Guatemala,  (d) Iceland,  (e) Macedonia,  (f) Slovakia and  (g) Thailand.

Bob Ainsworth: The Defence sections in Albania, Croatia, Guatemala, Macedonia and Thailand will have closed officially by 1 April 2008. Some support staff will remain beyond this date in order to close accounts and dispose of equipment and vehicles. The Defence sections in Ireland and Slovakia closed on 26 and 31 October 2007 respectively. There is no Defence section in Iceland.

Defence Manufacturers Association

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many events organised by the Defence Manufacturers' Association have been attended by  (a) him and  (b) officials from his Department or Defence Equipment and Support in the last 12 months; and what the purpose was of such meetings.

Bob Ainsworth: Records show that Defence Ministers have attended the following events organised by the Defence Manufacturers Association (DMA) over the past 12 months:
	
		
			  Date  Event  Defence Minister 
			 16 May 2007 DMA Annual Reception Minister for Defence Equipment and Support 
			 13 September 2007 DSEi Exhibition Minister for the Armed Forces 
			 13 September 2007 DMA/DSEi dinner Minister for Defence Equipment and Support 
			 29 October 2007 DMA/DE and S industry day Minister for Defence Equipment and Support 
			 18 December 2007 Meeting with DMA chairman at MOD Minister for Defence Equipment and Support 
		
	
	Information about officials attending DMA organised events is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Data Protection

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what audits his Department and its agencies carried out in relation to personal data and IT equipment in each of the last 10 years.

Derek Twigg: Between 2001 and 2007, 45 audits have been carried out in accordance with HM Treasury Government Internal Audit Standards. Information relating to years before 2001-02 is not held centrally and could be only provided at disproportionate cost.

Future Large Aircraft

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the projected in-service date was for the A400m aircraft in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what the in-service date is for the A400m.

Bob Ainsworth: The projected in-service date for A400M aircraft, as one of the MOD's highest value projects, is published annually in the Major Projects Report. At project approval in May 2000, the approved in-service date was December 2009. The projected in-service date was revised in March 2003 to March 2011 due to delay in contract activation. We are currently reassessing the projected in-service date in light of industry's recent announcement that the programme is running six months late with additional risk of a further six months' delay.

Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency: Manpower

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to change the number of Ministry of Defence Guarding Agency officers.

Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence Guard Service (MGS) is the uniformed, unarmed element forming part of the larger Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency. The complement for MGS Officers in 2008 is 4146. Security at MOD establishments is kept under constant review and future numbers will reflect the security requirements of the Department.

NATO: Finance

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what NATO's total common founding budget was in each of the last 10 years.

Des Browne: NATO's total common-funded budget for 1998 to 2007 was as follows:
	
		
			  NATO  military budget,  security investment programme (NSIP). a nd civil budget expenditure 1998 to  2007 
			  £ million 
			  NATO Common fund  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007( 3) 
			 Military budget(1) 625.6 653.0 717.6 709.3 749.0 761.4 788.6 855.3 960.2 1030.0 
			 NSIP(1) 410.6 582.0 678.6 546.3 731.4 678.7 652.1 606.7 582.1 640.0 
			 Civil budget(2) 144.9 148.6 150.7 155.0 167.0 170.4 171.6 175.9 181.1 186.1 
			 Total 1,181.1 1,383.6 1,546.9 1,410.6 1,647.4 1,610.5 1,612.3 1,637.9 1,723.4 1,856.1 
			 (1) Actual expenditure (2) Approved budgets (3) Estimate

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the review of the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund.

Jonathan R Shaw: The 2007 comprehensive spending review confirmed the continuation of the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund over the three financial years from 1 April 2008. DEFRA issued a consultation on the future priorities for, and delivery of, the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund on 30 January.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how much was paid by the Single Farm Payments Scheme to those individuals on the scheme who received £150,000 or more in each year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many individuals received £150,000 or more from the Single Farm Payments Scheme in each year for which figures are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 28 January 2008
	The Single Payment Scheme (SPS) 2005 and 2006 payments to individuals who received £150,000 or more are reflected in the table.
	SPS 2007 payments are still being made and RPA cannot provide equivalent figures at this stage.
	
		
			   Individuals  Total amount(£) 
			 SPS 2005 674 169,312,099 
			 SPS 2006 624 156,890,485

Christmas

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department's agencies spent on  (a) Christmas cards and  (b) postage of Christmas cards in each year since 1997.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA came into being in June 2001. The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. In 2006 and 2007, core-DEFRA did not produce physical Christmas cards opting instead for a selection of e-greetings cards chosen following an internal design competition and made available for all staff to use. Accordingly, no postage costs were incurred.

Farms: Norfolk

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms closed in Norfolk in each of the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: Information on the number of holdings is collected in the annual June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture. Information is not collated on the number of holdings closing. The following figures show the number of registered holdings at June each year. These figures show net change only and therefore include gains as well as losses.
	
		
			   Total holdings in Norfolk 
			 2002 6,511 
			 2003 6,589 
			 2004 6,751 
			 2005 6,783 
			 2006 6,658 
			  Notes: 1 Estimates are based on a sample survey and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling error. 2. Register improvement exercises, animal health requirements and the introduction of the Single Payment Scheme in 2005 have led to an increase in the number of holdings registered. 3. While in the majority of cases a farm holding equates to a farm business some farm businesses are made up of more than one holding. 4. Changes can occur in the ownership and status of the holding which may not necessarily be reflected in the above figures. 5. Information on the de-registration of VAT registered holdings is available from the Office for National Statistics.  Source: June Survey of Agriculture

Food Supply: EC Action

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the future development of a common EU food security policy, with particular reference to issues of security of supply.

Jonathan R Shaw: I am not aware of any plans for a future common EU food security policy. Food security has many components, including the stability and resilience of supply; the ability of the food system to withstand disruptions; food safety; nutrition and quality; and affordability. The EU has a role to play in relation to several aspects such as food safety, trade policy and agricultural policy.
	What matters to security of supply is effective risk management, security of energy supplies, access to food from a variety of sources, a strong food chain and infrastructure and the capacity and contingency planning to deal with specific risks. Improved trading relationships, based on more open international markets will help facilitate these.

Marine Management Organisation

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has for the responsibilities of the proposed marine management organisation in relation to integrated marine spatial planning on offshore wind farms.

Jonathan R Shaw: We will delegate responsibility for preparing marine plans to the proposed marine management organisation. These marine plans will reflect our objectives on offshore wind energy generation as set out in the proposed marine policy statement and relevant national policy statements.

Protection of Badgers Act 1992

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many prosecutions have taken place under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 in each year since its introduction.

Joan Ruddock: The number of defendants proceeded against for offences under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 in England and Wales from 1992 to 2006 is shown in the attached table.
	
		
			   Proceeded against 
			 1992 62 
			 1993 60 
			 1994 50 
			 1995 48 
			 1996 37 
			 1997 51 
			 1998 25 
			 1999 60 
			 2000 44 
			 2001 48 
			 2002 47 
			 2003 30 
			 2004 34 
			 2005 39 
			 2006 22 
			  Note:  These figures are on the principal offence basis.

Seas and Oceans: Environment Protection

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what recent discussions officials in his Department have had with officials in the Welsh Assembly Government on the devolution of powers consequent on the passage of the proposed Marine Bill; what the date was of the last meeting on the subject; and what matters were discussed;
	(2)  what recent discussions officials in his Department have had with officials in the Scottish Executive on the devolution of powers consequent on the passage of the proposed Marine Bill; what the date was of the last meeting on the subject; and what matters were discussed.

Jonathan R Shaw: In coming to a view on legislation, the Government works closely with the devolved Administrations. My officials are in contact and meet regularly with counterparts in the devolved Administrations to discuss marine issues including the Marine Bill. Discussions cover the full range of policy areas set out in the Marine Bill White Paper.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2008,  Official Report, column 1497W, on waste disposal: fees and charges, what action is proposed in relation to householders who do not pay the charges for waste collection.

Joan Ruddock: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 21 January 2008,  Off icial Report, column 1497W.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs over what period revenue neutrality in relation to charges for the collection of household rubbish will be calculated.

Joan Ruddock: As stated in the Climate Change Bill, local authorities will have to meet the requirement for revenue neutrality from year to year, and taking one year with another. We plan to work with stakeholders to provide further advice on this in guidance.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether a waste collection authority will be able to participate in a household waste charging pilot scheme where the waste disposal authority does not wish to.

Joan Ruddock: Pilot waste incentive schemes would need to be designated by the Secretary of State. We would expect a waste collection authority coming forward as a pilot to be able to demonstrate a good working relationship with its disposal authority. This relationship will underpin a successful pilot.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the likely maximum amount to be charged per year under proposals for a household waste charging scheme; what powers he plans to take to cap the charge; and at what level.

Joan Ruddock: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 14 January 2007,  Official Report, column 871W, to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles).

Waste Disposal: Incinerators

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether he plans to consult local authorities on the implications for incineration waste disposal costs of reclassification of bottom ash as hazardous waste;
	(2)  what considerations he has given to the merits of reclassifying bottom ash from incinerators as hazardous waste;
	(3)  what discussions his Department has held with other EU governments on the classification of bottom ash waste from incinerators.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 29 January 2008
	Revisions to the approved supply list (ASL) (version 8) introduced an ecotoxic classification for zinc oxide, one of the substances which is likely to be present in incinerator bottom ash (IBA). Zinc substances now need to be considered, in addition to lead and other ecotoxic heavy metals, when classifying and disposing of this kind of waste.
	Since there is the potential for potentially ecotoxic metal substances in incinerator bottom ash (IBA) to exist in non-ecotoxic form, I understand that the waste industry is currently developing a protocol for ecotoxicity testing of IBA.
	DEFRA and the Environment Agency both consider that the classification of IBA will remain non-hazardous pending the results of direct testing, which is being carried out as part of this work.
	DEFRA has not discussed the classification of IBA with other member states.

Waste Management

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the  (a) Business Resource Efficiency and Waste and  (b) Envirowise programmes in helping industry improve resource efficiency.

Joan Ruddock: The Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) Programme was set up to return £284 million raised from landfill tax back to businesses between 2005 and 2008 to improve their resource efficiency and to minimise the levels of waste that are unnecessarily sent to landfill.
	Evaluation results for 2005-06, which are conservative, indicate that BREW saved businesses nearly £88 million and increased their sales by over £14 million. There were also reductions in water use, waste sent to landfill and the amounts of raw materials used by businesses. Many of the benefits will be seen beyond 2005-06. Work is currently under way to assess the impact of programme spending in 2006-07.
	The Envirowise Programme is a key component of the overarching BREW programme. Envirowise aims to stimulate business to reduce their costs through reducing the amount of waste they produce.
	Impact Evaluation results for the calendar year 2006 indicate that £85 million was saved by business from direct use of Envirowise. This figure is conservative and accounts only for savings that would not have been made without Envirowise. The savings figure is much greater when including companies who consider themselves to have been assisted by Envirowise. There have also been large reductions in water use and use of raw materials from business using the programme.

Waste Management: Finance

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has provided to the  (a) Business Resource Efficiency and Waste programme and  (b) Envirowise programme in each of the last three years; how much funding is proposed to be allocated for each programme over the next three years; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: The Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) Programme was set up to return £284 million raised from landfill tax back to businesses between 2005 and 2008 through resource efficiency and waste projects. Funds are awarded to a number of regional and national BREW delivery bodies, including Envirowise.
	Funding allocated to BREW for each of the last three years is as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2005-2006 33 
			 2006-2007 (1)102.733 
			 2007-2008 (forecast) (2)148.267 
			 (1) With £18.318 million transferred to other business resource efficiency activities funded by DEFRA (2) With £25.267 million transferred to other business resource efficiency activities funded by DEFRA 
		
	
	These figures are subject to change, since actual spending could vary slightly from the forecast for 2007-08.
	Funding allocations to Envirowise for each of the last three years is as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2005-2006 12 
			 2006-2007 16.772 
			 2008-2008 22.19 
		
	
	Subsequent funding of the BREW programme will be subject to future spending decisions, which will be carefully balanced with other departmental priorities in tackling waste and climate change.

Whales: Japan

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to call upon the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species to examine the compliance of the Japanese whaling industry with the provisions of the Convention.

Jonathan R Shaw: Following the recent announcement that Japan intended to take 50 Humpback whales in the southern ocean as part of its JARPA II whaling programme, the UK Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Management Authority wrote to the CITES Secretariat asking for clarification on the legal position. We have drawn the contents of the reply to the attention of the EU CITES Management Committee, which will consider it at its next meeting in April.

Whales: Japan

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will ask the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species to investigate the legality of Japanese whaling under the convention.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 31 January 2008
	Following the recent announcement that Japan intended to take 50 Humpback whales in the southern ocean as part of its JARPA II whaling programme, the UK Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Management Authority wrote to the CITES Secretariat asking for clarification on the legal position. We have drawn the contents of the reply to the attention of the EU CITES Management Committee, which will consider it at its next meeting in April.

Whales: Japan

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if he will seek to place the recent report by a panel of independent legal experts on the legality of the Japanese whaling industry on the agenda of the annual meeting of the International Whaling Congress in Santiago in June 2008 for consideration by the parties;
	(2)  what representations he has received on the legality of the Japanese whaling industry; what research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on this subject; and what plans he has to raise this matter with the (i) Japanese government and (ii) International Whaling Commission.

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has had discussions with the Australian government on potential legal action against Japanese whaling activities in the Southern Ocean; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA is aware of the recent report commissioned by International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) which questioned the legality of Japan's whaling under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).
	Following the recent announcement that Japan intended to take 50 humpback whales in the Southern Ocean as part of its JARPA II whaling programme, the UK CITES Management Authority wrote to the CITES Secretariat asking for clarification on the legal position. We have drawn the contents of their reply to the attention of the EU CITES Management Committee, which will consider it at its next meeting in April. Japan subsequently announced it will not target humpbacks, but will still target minke and endangered fin whales.
	DEFRA has also received representations from Greenpeace UK and IFAW about the legality of Japanese whaling under CITES. A number of hon. Members have also made representations in support of IFAW's position.
	We will continue our efforts, along with other countries, to urge Japan to reconsider their position on whaling. In the build up to the annual International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in Chile (IWC60) and in discussion with other like-minded anti-whaling countries, we will consider all reports and options, including all legal avenues available.

Whales: Japan

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations he has received on the legality of Japanese whaling under the convention on international trade in endangered species; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 31 January 2008
	DEFRA has received representations from Greenpeace UK and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) about the legality of Japanese whaling under the convention on international trade in endangered species (CITES). A number of MPs have also made representations in support of IFAW's position.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Andrei Lugovoi: Extradition

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had at meetings of the Council of Ministers on  (a) the European Union response to the murder of Alexander Litvinenko and  (b) the refusal of the Russian authorities to extradite Andrei Lugovoi; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 31 January 2008
	We have been working at all levels with our partners in the EU to maintain EU pressure on Russia to ensure Andrei Lugovoi faces charges in connection with the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko in the UK. Our EU partners support our view that this is an issue which needs to be pursued within the framework of the EU's relations with Russia. We continue to demand that Lugovoi should stand trial in the UK. We have made clear to partners that Lugovoi remains charged with murder in the UK and is liable to prosecution here.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary in his statement of 16 July 2007,  Official Report, columns 21-22, undertook to keep the House informed of any significant development in this case.

Arms Trade

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information the Government collates on the activities of individual arms dealers, with particular reference to those who are reported to have  (a) broken UN sanctions and  (b) supplied countries where UK armed forces are operating.

Jim Murphy: The Export Control Organisation at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform is the licensing authority for strategic exports in the UK. It sets out the regulatory framework under which licence applications are considered, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise, and Regulatory Reform takes the formal decision to issue or refuse export licences or refuse export licence applications in accordance with the appropriate legislation and announced policy. Information about arms brokers who have had their proposed export licence application either refused or revoked is shared with HM Revenue and Customs and the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office to ensure that the decision is enforced. Where the Government receives information that an exporter has attempted to circumvent export control rules, the relevant Government departments and agencies will take action. For example, the arms broker John Knight was recently jailed for four years for breaching export controls relating to a brokered transaction between Kuwait and Iraq. This case illustrates that the legislation introduced under the Trade in Goods (Control) Order 2004 is making an impact.
	The UK has one of the most rigorous and transparent export licensing regimes in the world. All licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against "The Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria". The criteria cover in detail how we assess each case. Specifically criterion 5b states: "the risk of the goods concerned being used against UK forces". If there appears to any risk of this being the case, a licence will not be issued.

Cyprus

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2008,  Official Report, column 851W, on Cyprus, if he will place in the Library the full itinerary of the visit to Cyprus by the Government's Special Representative to Cyprus, the hon. Member for Enfield, North, in October 2007.

Jim Murphy: My right hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, North (Joan Ryan) visited Cyprus from 1 to 4 October 2007, in her capacity as my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's Special Representative to Cyprus. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 14 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 850-851W for details of her programme.

Cyprus

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2008,  Official Report, column 851W, on Cyprus, if he will list the  (a) date,  (b) venue and  (c) people attending each meeting in the UK attended by the hon. Member for Enfield, North in her official capacity as the Government's Special Representative to Cyprus.

Jim Murphy: In her capacity as my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's Special Representative to Cyprus, my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, North (Joan Ryan) holds regular meetings in the UK with representatives of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, other interested parties, Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials and Ministers.

Departmental Email

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to reduce the number of hard copies of e-mails printed by officials in his Department.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) actively encourages staff to minimise the environmental impact of printing e-mails through advice to delete any unnecessary text, to use duplex printing wherever possible and to print several pages per side of paper. A prepared message, prompting e-mail recipients to consider the necessity of printing, is available for inclusion as a part of staff e-mail signature blocks.
	In the slightly longer term, the reduced distribution of printers attached to the FCO's new desktop IT system will provide a practical means of discouraging casual printing of documents, including e-mails.

European Union: Exhibitions

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department holds on the cost of EU pavilions at international events.

Jim Murphy: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold information on the cost of EU pavilions at international events.

Georgia: Elections

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the conduct of the recent presidential elections in Georgia.

Jim Murphy: The Government accept the assessment of the International Election Observation Mission (IEOM), led by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). On 6 January, the IEOM reported in their preliminary findings that the election process
	"was in essence consistent with most OSCE and Council of Europe commitments and standards for democratic elections, [but] significant challenges were revealed which need to be addressed urgently."
	The final assessment of the election, which has not yet been issued, depends, in part, on the conduct of the concluding stages of the election process, including the tabulation and announcement of final results and the handling of possible post-election day complaints or appeals. The indications from the OSCE/ODIHR post-election interim report of 18 January are that there were a number of problems in these areas. The OSCE/ODIHR will issue a comprehensive final report in the coming weeks.
	We, and our EU partners, have urged Georgia to take all necessary steps to address the identified shortcomings in order to ensure successful parliamentary elections later this year. As I said in a public statement on the elections on 7 January, Georgia needs to do more to reinforce the independence of state institutions in a political campaign environment and to strengthen the freedom and pluralism of the media, as well as the independence of the judiciary.

Iraq: Oil

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of Iraq's contribution to total world oil pollution; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: We have not made any recent assessment of Iraq's contribution to total world oil pollution.

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what training the civilian police in UNAMID have received in dealing with gender issues such as rape; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: The 1,400 civilian police currently in Darfur as part of the African Union/UN Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID) were transferred from the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). They received training from EU police advisers working with AMIS, which included training on community policing and gender-based violence.
	The UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations is currently preparing pre-deployment training for extra officers to bring UN AMID's police component up to 6,500 officers. Their training will be discussed at a meeting in Accra in February, at which the UK will press for gender issues to be covered.

Terrorism: Finance

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out how the £400 million committed during the next three years by his Department, the Department for International Development and the British Council to tackle radicalisation and promote understanding overseas as announced by the Prime Minister in his statement of 14 November 2007,  Official Report, column 668W, on national security, is to be spent.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 31 January 2008
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Pontypridd (Dr. Howells) gave to him on 27 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 347-48W: that the Government will report back on action overseas with other countries to counter extremism when we launch the full national security strategy.

Turkmenistan: Human Rights

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Turkmenistan since the death of Saparmurat Niazov in December 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: Since the death of President Niyazov in December 2006 and the election of President Berdimuhamedov in February 2007, there has been some positive progress on human rights. There has been a greater willingness by Turkmenistan to engage on human rights issues with international organisations, including the EU, UN and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Louise Arbour, the UN Human Rights Commissioner, visited Turkmenistan in April 2007 and there is an outstanding invitation to the UN Rapporteur on Religious Freedom to visit. The EU Special Representative for Central Asia, Pierre Morel, and Javier Solana, High Representative for EU Common Foreign and Security Policy, discussed human rights with president Berdimuhamedov on several occasions in 2007, including during Berdimuhamedov's visit to Brussels in November 2007. The first EU-Turkmenistan ad hoc dialogue on human rights took place in Brussels in September 2007. The Minister for Energy, my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon, North (Malcolm Wicks) raised human rights concerns during his visit to Turkmenistan in September 2007.
	In August 2007, President Berdimuhamedov pardoned and released from prison a number of individuals who had been detained following the coup attempt on President Niyazov in 2002. These included Nasrullah Ibn Ibadullah, the former Chief Mufti. The UK has regularly lobbied for Ibadullah's release, bilaterally and jointly with EU partners, most recently the week before he was pardoned. Internal freedom of movement has improved. Checkpoints and roadblocks have been removed and it is easier for Turkmen citizens to travel to border areas. In contrast to previous practice, the new president has asked the international community to provide scholarships for young citizens of Turkmenistan to study abroad and has publicly encouraged young people to take up these opportunities.
	However, there remains a long way to go. The education system will need time to recover from years of neglect under President Niyazov. There is still no press freedom and no freedom of expression. President Berdimuhamedov has recently made statements criticising the quality of the media, but it is too early to say if this means any relaxation of controls on the media. There is only one political party, and religion and civil society are tightly controlled. Non-governmental organisations registration remains a lengthy and complex process and the Government has not yet addressed this issue.
	The UK will continue to urge Turkmenistan to address human rights issues and will support genuine efforts to do so, both bilaterally and with international partners. We will continue to work through the EU-Turkmenistan ad hoc Dialogue on Human Rights and through the EU's Central Asia Strategy, which has as one of its main themes the support for good governance, rule of law and human rights.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's 2008 Annual Human Rights Report win contain further analysis of the human rights situation in Turkmenistan.

HEALTH

Abortion: Freedom of Information

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what files are held by his Department on the Unborn Children (Protection) Bill of Session 1986-87; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 23 January 2008,  Official Report, column 2066W.

Alcoholic Drinks

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the extent to which alcohol is being sold at a price lower than the cost of duty payable on it.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department has commissioned an independent review, currently under way, to be carried out by a research team from the University of Sheffield, of the evidence on how and in what circumstance price and promotion—including discounting, price-based promotions and advertising—drive consumption of alcohol and harms from alcohol. The review will report in summer 2008. Following this the Government will consider the need for action, including regulatory change, and consult publicly on any proposals.

Blood: Donors

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what targets have been set for blood donation; and what performance has been against those targets in the last period for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: As of 20 January 2008, actual collections for this financial year stood at 1,531,900 units against a planned target of 1,548,300 units for this period. However, the National Blood Service continues to meet hospital demand for blood, currently fulfilling 99.97 per cent. of demand.

Carers

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment Lord Darzi made of the role of carers in his research for his report on the NHS.

Ivan Lewis: The national health service 'Our NHS, our future' Next Stage Review is primarily a local process. Eight clinical pathway groups in each strategic health authority region are considering how to improve personalisation in each pathway. They are doing this in partnership with patients, carers and their advocates. National working groups have been set up to consider the emerging issues which will require action at a national level, including primary and community care strategy.
	The national working groups will look closely at what the local clinical working groups tell them are the enablers and barriers to change and will seek input from wider stakeholder organisations, including those representing carers. This national work will, along with the work of the local clinical working groups, form the basis of Lord Darzi's final report in June on the future of the NHS in England.
	The review of the Prime Minister's carers strategy has involved a wide-ranging consultation of carers—both online—through an 'ideas tree', and through local and regional events. In addition, four deliberative events for 240 carers, including young carers, have enabled further discussion on the emerging themes from the consultation. Reports from the consultation and the deliberative events are being fed into the 'Our NHS, our future' Next Stage Review.

Confectionery

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that supermarkets provide clear labelling of confectionery products containing liqueurs.

Dawn Primarolo: Food labelling rules agreed at European Union level and implemented nationally by the United Kingdom Food Labelling Regulations 1996 (as amended) already require food businesses, including supermarkets to clearly list ingredients on the labelling of pre-packed food. Therefore pre-packed confectionery products containing liqueurs would need to indicate the presence of alcohol.
	Food law enforcement is the responsibility of local authority trading standards.

Darzi Review

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many civil servants are employed on Lord Darzi's review of the future of the NHS;
	(2)  when he expects to publish Lord Darzi's final report on the future of the NHS.

Ann Keen: The national health service Next Stage Review is core business for all civil servants in the Department. The final report will be published in June.

Drugs: Durham

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what facilities exist for the treatment and rehabilitation of those on addictive drugs in  (a) the county of Durham and  (b) Easington constituency.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is not held centrally but can instead be obtained from the County Durham Primary Care Trust.

Hearing Impaired

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of trends in the incidence of hearing loss in the adult population in the last 10 years.

Ivan Lewis: The Department has made no assessments of the trends in the incidence of hearing loss in the adult population in the last 10 years.

Hospitals: Infectious Diseases

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of the additional 270 million that he has allocated to tackle healthcare associated infections by 2010-11 will be available in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

Ann Keen: The Department will provide 80 million in funding in 2008-09, 200 million in 2010-11 and 270 million in 2010-11, a total of 550 million of additional funding over three years, to support the strategy to improve infection prevention and control and improve cleanliness in the national health service.
	For elements of the strategy which require local investments by a primary care trust (PCTs) or trusts, the funding will be reflected in future PCT allocations and tariff uplifts. PCT allocations and the national tariff have been issued for 2008-09 and will be issued for 2009-10 and 2010-11 in due course.

Hospitals: Standards

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking in relation to hospitals which are not meeting the Government's core standards on the care of older patients.

Ivan Lewis: National health service organisations are expected to adhere to core standards in their treatment of all patients, as assessed by the Healthcare Commission (HCC). When the HCC find that services are not meeting core standards, it may refer serious failure to the Secretary of State (or for foundation trusts, Monitor) with a recommendation that special measures may be taken. This option is rarely exercised because trust managers and, where appropriate, the strategic health authority (SHA) are expected to act as soon as a failure to reach a core standard is recognised.
	75 per cent. of all inpatients are older people. Many elderly patients find mixed sex accommodation distressing as it reduces their privacy. The 2008-09 Operating Framework sets out an expectation that primary care trusts (PCTs), which are responsible for working with healthcare providers to agree and implement plans for improving services, will set stretching local plans for improvement in performance in reducing mixed sex accommodation. The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement published guidance in December 2007 to help NHS healthcare providers adhere to the requirements of their local PCTs. The guidance clarifies that single-sex accommodation can be provided in single-sex wards, single rooms with adjacent single-sex toilet and washing facilities (preferably en-suite), or single-sex bays within mixed wards.
	Where patient survey scores are available, monitoring should be based on seeking specific improvements in these scores in the next survey. SHAs are responsible for the assurance of these processes and for the performance management of NHS trusts.

Obesity

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his statement of 23 January 2008,  Official Report, column 1499, on obesity, how healthy towns will be selected; and what process towns will have to follow to apply for designation as healthy towns.

Dawn Primarolo: The criteria and process for towns to apply for designation to become healthy towns are being developed by the Department of Health, Children, Schools and Families and Communities and Local Government, and will be announced in due course.

Prescriptions: Income

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was received in prescription charges for drugs prescribed for  (a) cancer,  (b) cystic fibrosis,  (c) Parkinson's Disease,  (d) asthma patients and  (e) colitis and Crohn's Disease patients in 2006-07.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is not held in the format requested.

Smoking

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on what progress has been made with the Choosing Health White Paper including the delivery of alternative routes and the expansion of choice available to smokers.

Dawn Primarolo: Smokers who want to quit with the support of the national health service now have a wide range of options available. There are over 150 local NHS Stop Smoking Services across England that offer a range of free services in different settings. Stop smoking pharmaceutical aids, including nicotine replacement therapy, are available in many different formats on prescription and can be accessed by young smokers. Smokers can also quit with free support from the NHS Smoking Helpline and Together Programme which provide information, advice and motivation by telephone, email, post or by text message at key moments during the smoker's quitting process. The NHS Pregnancy Smoking Helpline and the Asian Tobacco Helpline are also in operation. The NHS makes a wide range of printed materials available on quitting smoking, and the NHS Go Smokefree website at www.nhs.uk/gosmokefree has information and tools to support smokers to quit, and the location of NHS Stop Smoking Services across England.
	While the United Kingdom is recognised as a world leader in the provision of stop smoking support, the Department closely monitors international developments in this area. Pilot projects are planned for 2008 to develop new forms of NHS support for smokers who want to quit.

Tranquilisers: Rehabilitation

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many involuntary tranquiliser addicts have been successfully withdrawn by NHS treatment in each year since 1998.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 31 January 2008
	The information requested is not available.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Higher Education: Admissions

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much has been spent through  (a) Aimhigher,  (b) bursaries paid out by universities from fee income,  (c) the higher education funding councils and  (d) other public spending on widening access to university in each year since 2001.

Bill Rammell: This Government remain fully committed to widening access to higher education for people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Widening access requires long term investment and change across the higher education system. We have reformed student finance, reintroducing grants and raising the income threshold at which repayments start. No one is required to pay a contribution to their higher education up-front. These reforms, together with Aimhigher, have been instrumental in bringing about progress. The proportion of UK domiciled, young, full time, first degree entrants to English higher education institutions who were from lower socio-economic groups rose from 27.9 per cent. in 2002/03 to 29.1 per cent. in 2005/06.
	Expenditure from 2001-02 to date on widening access is as follows:
	
		
			   million 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Aimhigher and predecessors(1,2) 50 69.5 120 136 102 87 80 
			 Regional Projects(3) 5 5  
			 Student support(4) 1,213 1,096 1,084 1,195 1,405 1,622 1,887 
			 Widening participation allocation(5) 37 48 266 273 284 345 356 
			 University bursaries and outreach(6)  116 Not yet available 
			 Total(7) 1,295 1,208.5 1,460 1,604 1,791 2,170 2,323 
			 (1 )The unified Aimhigher programme was introduced in 2004. Predecessor programmes were Excellence Challenge, funded by the then Department for Education and Skills, and Partnerships for Progression, funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). Aimhigher is funded jointly by DIUS, HEFCE, the LSC and the Department of Health. (2) Excellence Challenge included Opportunity Bursaries. These were grants to eligible people from lower income families and were worth 2,000 over three years. From September 2001, 26,000 such bursaries were made available at a total cost of 37 million. With the wider reintroduction of grants in 2006, the Opportunity Bursary scheme was withdrawn. (3 )Funded by HEFCE (4) Includes student loans RAB charge, fee loans, student support grants, Maintenance Grant, HE Grant, grants for vulnerable students, tuition fee grants, grants for part-time students and access funds and bursaries. The student loans RAB charge estimates the future cost to Government of subsidising and writing off the student loans issued in that year; it does not represent the amount of cash lent to students, which has risen each year since the introduction of student loans. (5) These figures also include the allocation to widen access and improve provision for disabled students. (6) The Office for Fair Access forecasts that around 300 million annually will be spent by higher education providers on bursaries and scholarships benefiting students from low-income and other under-represented groups by the academic year 2008/09. (7) In 2001-04, Aimhigher contributed 10 million a year towards the widening participation allocation. The figure given as the total for each of these years is therefore less than the sum of the parts to avoid double counting.

Students: Autism

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people under 25 years with autism or Asperger's syndrome are currently studying in universities.

Bill Rammell: In the 2006/07 academic year, 650 students under the age of 25 at Higher Education Institutions in England reported that they had Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Autistic Spectrum Disorder includes Asperger's syndrome. Information separating Autistic Spectrum Disorder and Asperger's Syndrome is not held centrally. Figures for the 2007/08 academic year will be available in January 2009.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Commission for Africa

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of whether the Government are on course to implement the recommendations made by the Commission for Africa for which it is responsible; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: Many of the recommendations of the Commission for Africa (CfA) were taken up by the G8 at Gleneagles and agreed as collective commitments, including on peace and security, good governance, human development, cancelling debt and promoting growth. To mark the first anniversary of the launch of the CfA report the Government published a detailed report on the UK's contribution to taking forward the Commission's recommendations and ensuring that the other G8 countries deliver on their Gleneagles commitments. The report was deposited in the Library of both Houses on 9 March 2006.
	I made a written statement to the House on the Gleneagles commitments on 25 October 2007 (http://www.dfid.gov.uk/g8/alexander-statement.pdf). This showed good progress by the international community on the majority of milestones the UK Government identified as important for the period December 2006 to July 2007, in particular new funding for health, education and infrastructure. The UK has substantially increased its own aid to underpin these efforts: DFID's bilateral spending in Africa for 2007-08 is expected to reach 1.25 billion, up from 850 million in 2004-05.

Ethiopia: Money

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what currency transactions over the value of 25,000 were made by his Department where pounds sterling were changed into local currency in Ethiopia between 1 January and 30 June 2007.

Gillian Merron: The following transactions were made:
	
		
			   Value ()  Exchange rate  Commission paid () 
			 17 January 2007 250,626.57 17.2643 626.57 
			 23 March 2007 200,000.00 17.3585 500.00 
			 15 May 2007 250,626.57 17.6823 626.57

Ghana: Money

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what currency exchanges over the value of 25,000 from sterling to the local currency in Ghana have been made by his Department in the last six months.

Gillian Merron: In the last six months DFID Ghana has made the following transfers from sterling into Ghana new cedis:
	
		
			   Value () 
			 7 August 2007 100,000 
			 13 September 2007 125,000 
			 5 November 2007 170,000 
			 12 December 2007 83,000 
			 9 January 2008 100,000

International Assistance

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made towards achieving Millennium Development Goal number 2; and what steps he plans to take to encourage further progress.

Gillian Merron: Global enrolment in primary education has increased from 647 million in 1999 to 688 million in 2005.
	In April 2006, the UK Government committed 8.5 billion over 10 years to help achieve the education Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The bulk of this support will help poor countries in Africa and Asia to develop and implement long-term education sector plans to achieve the education MDGs. At the 2007 G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, the G8 countries reaffirmed that no country seriously committed to Education for All will be thwarted in their achievement of this goal by lack of resources. We will continue to urge our G8 partners and other donors to meet their promises on education, and also seek accelerated action to meet all of the MDGs through the MDG Call to Action, jointly launched last July by the Prime Minister and the United Nations Secretary-General.

Mozambique: Money

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what currency transactions over the value of 25,000 have been made by his Department where pounds sterling were changed into local currency in Mozambique in the last six months.

Gillian Merron: The following sterling amounts were changed into Mozambican Meticais over the period 1 August 2007 to 31 January 2008:
	
		
			  Date  Value () 
			 16 August 2007 30,136.40 
			 5 September 2007 39,798.04 
			 1 October 2007 29,450.04 
			 19 October 2007 39,093.97 
			 12 November 2007 28,698.14 
			 28 November 2007 29,303.91 
			 9 January 2008 30,404.22

Tuvalu: Floods

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what account he has taken of evidence that possible inundation of the Pacific island of Tuvalu may be caused by  (a) rising sea level and  (b) sinking of the earth's crust in allocating UK aid to that area.

Shahid Malik: DFID has not had a bilateral aid programme in the Pacific since 2001. The UK provides assistance to the region through the European Commission's European Development Fund (EDF). 5 million has been earmarked for Tuvalu under the 10(th) EDF, which is due to begin this year and end in 2013. The UK's share of the 10th EDF is 14.82 per cent. The European Commission recognises climate change is an important cross-cutting issue for the small islands of the Pacific region, and major regional initiatives to address it are being considered in the context of the 10(th) EDF.

Uganda: Money

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what currency transactions over the value of 25,000 have been made by his Department where pounds sterling were changed into local currency in Uganda in the last six months.

Gillian Merron: Over the past six months the DFID Uganda office has made four transactions above the value of 25,000 where money, received in Uganda in US dollars from the Department's headquarters in the UK, was converted to Uganda shillings in-country.
	
		
			   US dollars ($) transformed to shillings  Equivalent in   Exchange rate ($ to shs.)  Commission( 1) 
			 August 200,000 98,080.01 1,650 0 
			 September 200,000 99,642.31 1,755 0 
			 October 200,000 97,148 1,727 0 
			 November 300,000 143,929.2 1,675 0 
			 (1) DFID Uganda has negotiated with its bankers not to charge commission on any of its transactions as we do not receive interest from the money in its accounts.

JUSTICE

Christmas

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department's agencies spent on  (a) Christmas cards and  (b) postage of Christmas cards in each year since 1997.

Maria Eagle: 2007 was the first year that an MOJ Christmas card had been produced by our print room. Pursuant to PQ 176917, 7 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 136-37W, and PQ 171443, 10 December 2007,  Official Report, columns 176-77W, 6,000 had been ordered at a cost of 34p each, totalling 2,040. These cards were not centrally funded, and each business area covered the costs of the cards they ordered from their stationery budgets.
	Prior to 2007, cards were not centrally ordered or produced. The expenditure is not separately identifiable within the Department's accounts and may be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
	It is not possible to ascertain the specific postage costs relating to these Christmas cards, as all postage is accounted for as a whole, rather than broken down into separate components.
	The Department has a general policy where all post is sent out second class unless it is stated otherwise.

Harassment Act 1997

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 24 January 2008,  Official Report, column 2202W, on the Harassment Act 1997, how many prosecutions were brought by  (a) local authorities against individuals and  (b) individuals against local authorities in each year since the Act entered into force.

Maria Eagle: I will respond to the hon. Gentleman as soon as possible.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire dated 7 December 2007 on the policy on criminal appeals.

Maria Eagle: I wrote to the hon. Member on 31 January 2008. I apologise for the delay.

Offensive Weapons: Bail

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether his Department has issued guidance on the granting of bail to a person charged with possessing a knife in a public place.

Maria Eagle: Whether to grant bail or not is and must remain a decision for the courts to make within the statutory framework provided by Parliament in the Bail Act 1976, taking account of relevant case-law. It is the responsibility of the Government to keep the statutory framework under careful review, bringing proposals for change to Parliament as necessary. We are currently looking at the implications for bail law and procedure of the recent cases involving the offence of murder. If changes are needed we shall make them.

Prison Service: Drugs

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many  (a) prison officers and  (b) prison visitors have been prosecuted for bringing drugs into prison in each of the last five years; how many of those prosecutions have resulted in a conviction; and what the average length was of sentence on conviction;
	(2)  how many people have been prosecuted under the Offender Management Act 2007 for bringing  (a) mobile telephones and  (b) alcohol into prisons.

Maria Eagle: Under current statutes, there are no specific offences covering prison officers and prison visitors bringing drugs into prisons. Offences by this group of people would currently be prosecuted under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Information held by my Department does not identify the circumstances in which offences against the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 were prosecuted.
	Specific offences covering Conveyance of prohibited articles into or out of prison including drugs will come into force in April 2008 as part of the Offender Management Act 2007. The new Act also makes the conveyance of mobile phones into prisons an offence for the first time and maintains the existing offence relating to conveyance of alcohol.

Prisoner Escapes

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many inmates  (a) escaped and  (b) absconded from each open prison in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The number of incidents of prisoners absconding or escaping from prisons which have, or had in the past, an open element is shown in the table below for the period 1 April 1997 to 31 March 2007.
	Prisoners are classed as 'absconders' if they absent themselves from Prison Service custody without lawful authority and without overcoming physical security restraints such as that provided by fences, locks, bolts and bars, a secure vehicle or handcuffs. Escapes involve circumstances where physical security restraints have been overcome.
	Most absconds are from open or semi-open prisons. Those prisons which are fully open, semi-open or have an open element are shown in the tables including some cases where prisons have re-rolled and no longer have an open element. It is possible for a prisoner to escape from an open prison. For example, an incident involving a prisoner who was been held in segregation within an open prison and who then managed to break out and leave the prison would be regarded as an escape rather than an abscond.
	Data on escapes and absconds and other performance data are published for all prisons at the following link:
	http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/abouttheservice/prisonperformance/performancestatistics/
	
		
			  Escapes from open prisons 1 April 1997 to 31 March 2007 
			   Latchmere House  Thorn Cross 
			 1997-98   
			 1998-99   
			 1999-2000  1 
			 2000-01 1  
			 2001-02   
			 2002-03   
			 2003-04   
			 2004-05   
			 2005-06   
			 2005-07   
		
	
	
		
			  Absconds from open prisons 1 April 1997 to 31 March 2007 
			  Establishment  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Askham Grange 35 17 20 21 19 12 31 12 14 7 
			 Blantyre House 11 1  1 1  
			 Drake Hall 122 134 94 39 33  1
			 East Sutton Park 5 3 3 3 3  1 2 4 2 
			 Ford 53 40 68 57 57 91 142 110 96 62 
			 Grendon/ Springhill 20 9 14 14 12 23 60 36 34 11 
			 Hatfield/ Moorland 77 80 36 34 50 56 68 73 49 41 
			 Hewell Grange 40 17 32 20 15 23 31 24 24 13 
			 Hollesley Bay 13 25 11 24 8 14 36 32 16 21 
			 Kirkham 234 202 171 169 163 208 213 120 74 54 
			 Kirklevington  1  4 2  
			 Latchmere House1 2 1 
			 Leyhill 20 25 34 25 19 33 114 102 66 37 
			 Lindholme 4  
			 Morton Hall 20 15 23 6  1 
			 North Sea Camp 25 32 27 24 36 34 79 33 49 48 
			 Norwich8 2 2 
			 Standford Hill 35 36 43 29 37 83 89 39 58 38 
			 Sudbury 81 75 63 69 81 68 75 77 76 78 
			 Thorn Cross 168 135 147 110 135 152 130 90 105 82 
			 Usk/Prescoed 7 13 19 14 5 8 35 19 9 9 
			 Wealstun 48 70 72 105 79 101 144 74 28 46

Prisons

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average spending was per prisoner held in  (a) all HM Prisons and  (b) HM Prison Chelmsford in the last period for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: The average cost per prisoner for all prisons in 2006-07 was 26,737. The average at HMP Chelmsford was 29,134.

Prisons: Drugs

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many passive drug dogs are in operation in the Prison Service; where they are deployed; and what the strategic reason is for their deployment;
	(2)  what the  (a) capital and  (b) annual cost is of (i) training and (ii) operating passive drug detection dogs for use by the Prison Service;
	(3)  what the total cost to the Prison Service of the use of passive drug detection dogs has been.

David Hanson: On 30 January there were a total of 228 passive drug dogs in operation in prisons in England and Wales. The following table shows where they are deployed.
	Passive drug dogs are used to assist in the searching for drugs in establishments in accordance with drug strategies set by area managers and governing governors.
	Costs are not collated centrally and gathering this information would incur disproportionate costs. However, a Passive Drug Dog team (handler and dog) costs approx 40,000 per annum including training. A dog purchase is around 1,000. Based on an approximate running cost of 40,000 per year, the total cost of 228 dogs is just over 9 million per annum.
	
		
			  High Security Estate  Number 
			 Belmarsh 3 
			 Frankland 3 
			 Full Sutton 3 
			 Long Lartin 3 
			 Manchester 3 
			 Wakefield 3 
			 Whitemoor 3 
			 Woodhill 2 
			   
			  North East Area  
			 Acklington 2 
			 Castington 2 
			 Deerbolt 2 
			 Durham 6 
			 Holme House 2 
			 Low Newton 3 
			   
			  North West Area  
			 Buckley Hall 2 
			 Garth 2 
			 Haverigg 2 
			 Hindley 2 
			 Kirkham 3 
			 Lancaster 1 
			 Liverpool 2 
			 Preston 2 
			 Risley 3 
			 Styal 2 
			 Thorn Cross 1 
			 Wymott 3 
			 Kennett 3 
			   
			  Yorkshire and Humberside Area  
			 Yorkshire Area Search Team 11 
			   
			  West Midlands Area  
			 Birmingham 3 
			 Blakenhurst 7 
			 Brinsford 2 
			 Drake Hall 1 
			 Featherstone 1 
			 Shrewsbury 2 
			 Stafford 2 
			 Stoke Heath 2 
			 Swinfen Hall 2 
			   
			  East Midlands Area  
			 Ashwell 1 
			 Foston Hall 2 
			 Gartree 2 
			 Glen Parva 3 
			 Leicester 2 
			 Lincoln 2 
			 Morton Hall 0 
			 North Sea Camp 1 
			 Nottingham 2 
			 Onley 3 
			 Ranby 3 
			 Stocken 2 
			 Sudbury 2 
			 Wellingborough 2 
			 Whatton 2 
			   
			  Eastern Area  
			 Bedford 2 
			 Blundeston 2 
			 Bullwood Hall 1 
			 Chelmsford 3 
			 Edmunds Hill 2 
			 Highpoint 2 
			 Hollesley Bay 1 
			 Littlehey 2 
			 The Mount 2 
			 Norwich 3 
			 Warren Hill 1 
			 Wayland 3 
			   
			  South West Area  
			 Bristol 2 
			 Channings Wood 2 
			 Dartmoor 2 
			 Dorchester 1 
			 Eastwood Park 2 
			 Erlestoke 1 
			 Exeter 2 
			 Gloucester 1 
			 Guys Marsh 1 
			 Leyhill 1 
			 Portland 1 
			 Shepton Mallet 1 
			 The Verne 1 
			 Wales Area  
			 Cardiff 0 
			 Swansea 1 
			   
			  South Central Area  
			 Isle of Wight 5 
			 Aylesbury 1 
			 Bullingdon 2 
			 Coldingley 2 
			 Downview 1 
			 Grendon 1 
			 High Down 1 
			 Huntercombe 0 
			 Kingston 2 
			 Reading 1 
			 Send 0 
			 Winchester 2 
			   
			  Kent and Sussex Area  
			 Elmley 1 
			 Ford 1 
			 Lewes 1 
			 Maidstone 2 
			 Rochester 1 
			 Standford Hill 0 
			 Swaleside 1 
			   
			  London Area  
			 Brixton 0 
			 Feltham 2 
			 Holloway 2 
			 Pentonville 2 
			 Wandsworth 2 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 1 
			   
			  Private Prisons  
			 Altcourse 4 
			 Ashfield 1 
			 Bronzefield 1 
			 Doncaster 2 
			 Dovegate 2 
			 Forest Bank 2 
			 Lowdham Grange 2 
			 Parc 2 
			 Rye Hill 3 
			 The Wolds 0 
			 Peterborough 2 
			   
			 Total 228

Prisons: Employment

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the  (a) trend in the number of hours of purposeful prisoner activity since April 2007 and  (b) likely trend from April 2008; what his policy is on purposeful activity; what measures are in place to monitor the (i) provision of opportunities for and (ii) the quantity of purposeful activity in prisons; and whether such activity is a key performance indicator.

Maria Eagle: During the financial year to December, prisons have reported an average of 25.1 hours of purposeful activity per prisoner per week.
	From April 2008 a new core day will be introduced and the expectation is that resources will be realigned to maximise availability of work and education.
	Provision of purposeful activity opportunities are set at local level and are based on a combination of prisoner need and prisoner status on the Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme (IEP) and prison establishment facilities.
	Each establishment is set a Key Performance Target (KPT) for purposeful activity. A monitoring system is in place to obtain data on regime activity in each establishment.
	Purposeful activity is no longer a Key Performance Indicator but remains an establishment Key Performance Target.

Prisons: Shipping

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to acquire prison ships; how much he has allocated to that purpose; what the timetable is for such provision becoming operational; and how many prison places they will provide.

Jack Straw: The Ministry of Justice will launch a competition for a prison ship. The current prison building programme, implementing the recommendations published by Lord Carter of Coles on 5 December 2007, assumes that a facility providing over 400 places will be available in late 2009.

Redditch Prison

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the effect on costs of the creation of HMP Redditch, broken down by  (a) staffing and  (b) other elements.

David Hanson: As I announced to the House on 29 January, consultation on the name of the planned merger has been extended to 1 March 2008. Any further comments on wider issues would be welcome.
	Following the outcome of the consultation it will be possible to calculate the cost of the exercise. It is expected that the merger will generate cost reductions of 650,000 in 2008-09 and 860,000 in 2009-10, while improving efficiency and effectiveness.

Reoffenders: Costs

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost to the economy of re-offending in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

David Hanson: There are currently no estimates of the overall costs to the economy due to re-offending for each of the last 10 years. However, in 2002 the Government's Social Exclusion Unit estimated the costs of crime committed by ex-prisoners to be around 11 billion.

Royal Mail: Compensation

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2008,  Official Report, column 1765W, how often Royal Mail paid compensation in such cases in each of the last three years.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is not held centrally. Each fixed penalty office will encourage the owner of the lost licence to claim the cost of replacement from the Royal Mail. As the compensation cheque is mostly sent to the claimant there is no way of knowing the success rate of the claims.

PRIME MINISTER

Departmental ICT

Susan Kramer: To ask the Prime Minister how many  (a) male and  (b) female members of staff of his Office were issued with personal digital assistants in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East (Mr. Watson) on 31 January 2008,  Official Report, column 502W.

Departmental Public Relations

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Prime Minister how many external contracts his Office held with public relations companies in each of the last 10 years; and what the total cost of those contracts was.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East (Mr. Watson) on 31 January 2008,  Official Report, column 502W.

TREASURY

Alcoholic Drinks: Death

Richard Spring: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many alcohol-related deaths there were in  (a) the East of England and  (b) Suffolk in each of the last five years.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 1 February 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many alcohol-related deaths there have been in (a) the East of England and (b) Suffolk in each of the last five years. (178897)
	The table attached provides the number of deaths with an alcohol-related underlying cause in (a) the East of England government office region, and (b) Suffolk county from 2002 to 2006 (the latest year available).
	
		
			  Table 1: number of deaths with an alcohol-related underlying cause of death( 1)  East of England government office region, and Suffolk county( 2)  2002 to 2006( 3) 
			  Deaths (persons) 
			   Area 
			   East of England  Suffolk 
			 2002 456 48 
			 2003 484 60 
			 2004 485 65 
			 2005 492 56 
			 2006 556 70 
			 (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10), The specific causes of death categorised as alcohol-related, and their corresponding ICD-10 codes, are shown in the following table. (2) Based on boundaries as of 2007. (3) All figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. 
		
	
	
		
			  Box 1: alcohol-related causes of deathInternational Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) 
			  Cause of death  ICD-10 code(s) 
			 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol F10 
			 Degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol G31.2 
			 Alcoholic polyneuropathy G62.1 
			 Alcoholic cardiomyopathy I42.6 
			 Alcoholic gastritis K29.2 
			 Alcoholic liver disease K70 
			 Chronic hepatitis, not elsewhere classified K73 
			 Fibrosis and cirrhosis of liver (excl. Biliary cirrhosis) K74 (excl. K74.3-K74.5) 
			 Alcohol induced chronic pancreatitis K86.0 
			 Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol X45 
			 Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to alcohol X65 
			 Poisoning by and exposure to alcohol, undetermined intent Y15

Departmental Accountancy

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what items of his Department's  (a) revenue and  (b) expenditure are uprated using (i) the consumer prices index, (ii) the retail prices index and (iii) other measures of inflation.

Angela Eagle: The Treasury uses the retail prices index to uprate the payments in respect of the service element of the PFI contract on the 1 Horse Guards road building.

Ethnic Mutual

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Financial Services Authority is taking to remove Ethnic Mutual from its register; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: This is a matter for the Financial Services Authority. The FSA is required by the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965 to publish any suspension of the society's registration.

Excise Duties: Fuels

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research has been  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated by his Department on the number of motorists who (i) cease using their car, (ii) reduce the number of times they use their car and (iii) maintain their driving levels following an increase in fuel duty; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: The Government are committed to achieving a sustainable economy. At Budget 2007, fuel duty rates were announced for the following three financial years, in order to provide certainty to business and consumers. It is estimated that these rates will result in a reduction of 250 million litres of fuel that would otherwise have been purchased by 2011-12, had duty been increased in line with inflation during the period.
	This effect is driven by a number of factorsincluding more efficient driving, a reduction in the number of journeys taken, and an improvement in the efficiency of cars purchased. However, HM Revenue and Customs do not disaggregate these effects when calculating the overall impact of duty increases.

Fair Trade Initiative

Michael Moore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's policy is on the use of fair trade goods  (a) in staff catering facilities and  (b) at official departmental functions and meetings; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given to the hon. Member for St. Ives (Andrew George) on 13 February 2006,  Official Report, column 1552W.
	Fair Trade goods continue to be offered to staff and Fair Trade teas and coffees are served at all official meetings.

Financial Services Authority: Resignations

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of Financial Services Authority staff indicated in the most recent staff survey that they were considering leaving the organisation.

Angela Eagle: The matter raised in this question is the responsibility of the Financial Services Authority (FSA). I have asked the chief executive of the FSA to write to the hon. Member on the issue he raises.

Metronet: Finance

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the implications are, including sums involved, of the Office of National Statistics reclassifying Metronet and Tubelines costs from the private sector to the public sector for National Accounts purposes.

Angela Eagle: The public sector classification of Metronet and Tubelines was a statistical decision with no impact on the way in which the PPP contracts operate.
	Estimates of the impact were set out in the ONS release of 24 September 2007.

National Income: South West Region

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the gross value added per head of population was for each local authority in the South West Region.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 1 February 2008:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question about gross value added (GVA) per head of population in each local authority in the South West region. (182464)
	The Office for National Statistics publishes regional GVA using official statistical geographies known as Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics (NUTS). NUTS3 data includes local authority level data but do not fully correspond to the local authorities of the United Kingdom. Regional GVA estimates are expressed at current basic prices and do not allow for changes in prices over time (inflation) or differences in regional price levels (purchasing power).
	Regional GVA per head can be found in table 3.2 of the link:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_economy/GVA_NUTS3_Excel_Tables_1995-2005.xls
	The full range of regional GVA estimates are available on the ONS website:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=l4650

Revenue and Customs: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the reasons are for the Milton Keynes tax office's practice of not issuing receipts for tax returns handed in in person before the 31 January deadline.

Jane Kennedy: Since 2005 HMRC has adopted a consistent national approach of not issuing receipts for returns handed in to Enquiry Centres. Checking and issuing receipts for returns diverted staff from serving those that need advice and help to complete their forms particularly around the 31 January SA deadline when many hundreds of thousands of tax returns are handed in.

Suicide: Wales

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of suicides in Wales in each constituency in each year since 2000, broken down by  (a) sex and  (b) age; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 1 February 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what estimate has been made of the number of suicides in Wales in each constituency in each year since 2000, broken down by (a) sex and (b) age. (183369)
	The tables attached provide the number of deaths where suicide was the underlying cause of death in Wales by (a) parliamentary constituency and sex, and (b) five year age group, for 2000 to 2006 (the latest year available). Figures are not available for parliamentary constituency, broken down by sex and age, as these data are judged to be too detailed to preserve anonymity in death statistics.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of deaths where suicide was the underlying cause of death( 1, 2) , Wales, by parliamentary constituency and sex, 2000-06( 3) 
			  Deaths 
			  Parliamentary constituency  Sex  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Aberavon Male 10 13 4 6 8 10 5 
			  Female 1 1 2 0 4 3 2 
			  Total 11 14 6 6 12 13 7 
			  
			 Alyn and Deeside Male 7 7 5 5 6 5 6 
			  Female 1 1 2 2 1 1 0 
			  Total 8 8 7 7 7 6 6 
			  
			 Blaenau Gwent Male 11 4 9 2 11 5 1 
			  Female 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 
			  Total 11 4 9 4 11 5 3 
			  
			 Brecon and Radnorshire Male 5 11 1 2 2 8 3 
			  Female 2 0 2 1 2 5 3 
			  Total 7 11 3 3 4 13 6 
			  
			 Bridgend Male 8 4 7 9 7 8 12 
			  Female 2 0 1 3 3 1 5 
			  Total 10 4 8 12 10 9 17 
			  
			 Caernarvon Male 4 2 1 4 6 3 3 
			  Female 1 1 0 4 4 2 2 
			  Total 5 3 1 8 10 5 5 
			  
			 Caerphilly Male 8 7 7 6 12 3 6 
			  Female 0 0 1 2 2 1 2 
			  Total 8 7 8 8 14 4 8 
			  
			 Cardiff Central Male 3 6 6 6 6 5 7 
			  Female 1 2 3 1 3 4 4 
			  Total 4 8 9 7 9 9 11 
			  
			 Cardiff North Male 6 7 6 5 5 3 4 
			  Female 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 
			  Total 9 8 7 6 6 4 5 
			  
			 Cardiff South and Penarth Male 7 6 8 5 5 4 3 
			  Female 3 1 0 2 1 1 2 
			  Total 10 7 8 7 6 5 5 
			  
			 Cardiff West Male 7 5 4 7 14 3 8 
			  Female 0 1 2 4 1 1 5 
			  Total 7 6 6 11 15 4 13 
			  
			 Carmarthen East and Dinefwr Male 8 7 6 10 12 7 9 
			  Female 2 1 2 2 0 1 1 
			  Total 10 8 8 12 12 8 10 
			  
			 Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Male 8 11 7 6 9 7 9 
			  Female 1 2 1 4 4 0 1 
			  Total 9 13 8 10 13 7 10 
			  
			 Ceredigion Male 3 6 7 9 4 7 7 
			  Female 0 2 5 3 5 0 2 
			  Total 3 8 12 12 9 7 9 
			  
			 Clwyd South Male 5 5 6 5 9 5 6 
			  Female 1 1 1 1 0 2 3 
			  Total 6 6 7 6 9 7 9 
			  
			 Clwyd West Male 5 5 4 11 10 7 12 
			  Female 2 3 4 3 3 3 0 
			  Total 7 8 8 14 13 10 12 
			  
			 Conwy Male 6 6 9 4 3 5 9 
			  Female 4 0 6 2 3 0 2 
			  Total 10 6 15 6 6 5 11 
			  
			 Cynon Valley Male 3 9 2 5 5 4 5 
			  Female 1 2 3 2 2 1 1 
			  Total 4 11 5 7 7 5 6 
			  
			 Delyn Male 10 6 5 8 13 7 7 
			  Female 5 1 1 2 0 0 3 
			  Total 15 7 6 10 13 7 10 
			  
			 Gower Male 5 9 4 9 2 2 4 
			  Female 2 3 2 2 1 0 3 
			  Total 7 12 6 11 3 2 7 
			  
			 Islwyn Male 3 4 6 9 7 4 5 
			  Female 0 0 0 3 0 1 2 
			  Total 3 4 6 12 7 5 7 
			  
			  
			 Llanelli Male 6 8 6 8 4 6 6 
			  Female 3 5 2 2 1 3 1 
			  Total 9 13 8 10 5 9 7 
			  
			 Meirionnydd Nant Conwy Male 7 3 4 6 3 2 3 
			  Female 2 4 1 2 0 1 1 
			  Total 9 7 5 8 3 3 4 
			  
			 Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney Male 11 6 4 10 4 4 6 
			  Female 1 1 3 0 2 3 4 
			  Total 12 7 7 10 6 7 10 
			  
			 Monmouth Male 6 5 6 3 3 3 7 
			  Female 1 0 2 2 4 0 1 
			  Total 7 5 8 5 7 3 8 
			  
			 Montgomeryshire Male 3 10 4 8 4 6 3 
			  Female 2 1 1 4 2 0 1 
			  Total 5 11 5 12 6 6 4 
			  
			 Neath Male 1 5 10 12 4 8 5 
			  Female 2 2 2 2 0 0 2 
			  Total 3 7 12 14 4 8 7 
			 Newport East Male 6 7 6 4 3 4 4 
			  Female 3 1 0 1 0 3 0 
			  Total 9 8 6 5 3 7 4 
			  
			 Newport West Male 5 5 5 3 4 8 9 
			  Female 1 1 1 0 1 1 2 
			  Total 6 6 6 3 5 9 11 
			  
			 Ogmore Male 6 8 9 5 7 5 3 
			  Female 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 
			  Total 6 8 9 7 7 6 4 
			  
			 Pontypridd Male 10 7 7 7 6 3 3 
			  Female 2 3 2 0 2 0 1 
			  Total 12 10 9 7 8 3 4 
			  
			 Preseli Pembrokeshire Male 8 9 5 6 6 9 1 
			  Female 3 1 4 0 0 0 2 
			  Total 11 10 9 6 6 9 3 
			  
			 Rhondda Male 4 8 5 6 8 7 6 
			  Female 2 2 5 4 2 2 1 
			  Total 6 10 10 10 10 9 7 
			  
			 Swansea East Male 5 7 9 9 7 8 7 
			  Female 2 3 3 3 2 0 1 
			  Total 7 10 12 12 9 8 8 
			  
			 Swansea West Male 7 3 6 6 4 4 6 
			  Female 1 2 4 5 3 1 5 
			  Total 8 5 10 11 7 5 11 
			  
			 Torfaen Male 6 7 4 7 7 4 5 
			  Female 3 2 1 2 1 3 1 
			  Total 9 9 5 9 8 7 6 
			  
			 Vale of Clwyd Male 11 3 8 3 13 5 6 
			  Female 2 2 2 0 3 4 3 
			  Total 13 5 10 3 16 9 9 
			  
			 Vale of Glamorgan Male 8 6 6 7 5 6 4 
			  Female 3 4 3 0 5 2 2 
			  Total 11 10 9 7 10 8 6 
			  
			 Wrexham Male 5 3 5 4 5 6 6 
			  Female 1 1 0 3 1 3 2 
			  Total 6 4 5 7 6 9 8 
			  
			 Ynys Mon Male 4 4 6 7 5 3 3 
			  Female 2 1 0 0 3 1 0 
			  Total 6 5 6 7 8 4 3 
			  
			 Total  319 313 304 332 330 269 301 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of deaths where suicide was the underlying cause of death1'2, Wales, by age group, 2000 - 06( 3) 
			  Deaths (persons) 
			  Age group  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 15-19 23 13 7 16 16 8 7 
			 20-24 27 25 31 43 19 19 22 
			 25-29 34 34 30 39 28 13 16 
			 30-34 37 33 32 39 32 34 30 
			 35-39 44 38 35 33 37 25 39 
			 40-44 21 30 39 29 31 31 30 
			 45-49 27 30 25 27 33 29 32 
			 50-54 23 26 25 26 34 32 26 
			 55-59 22 20 21 27 24 25 30 
			 60-64 16 17 16 19 16 14 21 
			 65-69 9 16 11 7 18 10 17 
			 70-74 15 10 6 13 14 7 12 
			 75-79 10 11 8 6 16 8 9 
			 80-84 5 3 10 7 6 7 5 
			 85+ 6 7 8 1 6 7 5 
			 Total 319 313 304 332 330 269 301 
			 (1) Suicide was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes E950-E959 and E980-E989, excluding E988.8 for the year 2000, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84 and Y10-Y34, excluding Y33.9 (where the Coroner's verdict was pending) for the years 2001 to 2006. (2) Suicide and undetermined intent deaths have not been included for children under the age of 15 years. (3) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year

Taxation: Energy

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to Ofgem's proposal for a windfall tax on energy suppliers.

Angela Eagle: Proposals about tax are dealt with by the Chancellor in the usual Budget/pre-Budget report cycle. The Treasury considers all representations on tax issues including tax proposals.

Tolls: Roads

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the factors taken into account by local authorities in deciding whether or not to introduce road-pricing schemes; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 24 January 2008
	I have been asked to reply.
	The Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) will support packages of local measures that tackle congestion problems by combining demand management, including road pricing, with better public transport. These packages will be locally designed solutions to local congestion problems. The factors we expect local authorities to take into account are available in 'TIF: Guidance on Business Case Requirements for Programme Entry' available at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/tif/tifguidanceprogrammeentry
	We will formally assess business cases that are submitted against the published criteria.
	We have made no assessment of the factors taken into account by local authorities deciding not to introduce road pricing schemes.

Valuation Office: Geographic Information Systems

Bob Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether representatives of the Valuation Office Agency will attend the 2008 GIS/CAMA Technologies Conference in New Orleans in February 2008.

Jane Kennedy: No.

WALES

Departmental Internet

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many Wikipedia entries have been  (a) created and  (b) amended (i) by (A) special advisers, (B) Ministers and (C) communications officials and (ii) from IP addresses of (X) special advisers, (Y) Ministers and (Z) communications officials in (aa) his Department and (bb) its agencies since August 2005.

Paul Murphy: None.

Prison Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on the implementation of the new structures for prison and probation services in Wales.

Paul Murphy: My predecessor had regular discussions with the First Minister and Ministry of Justice colleagues on matters affecting Wales, including prison and probation services. I intend to continue this.
	The restructuring will bring the National Offender Management Service and the Prison Service together so as to improve the focus on front-line delivery and improve efficiency.

WORK AND PENSIONS

National Insurance Contributions

Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate how many  (a) UK and  (b) non-UK residents would be eligible to purchase an additional (i) six and (ii) nine years national insurance contributions assuming 6 per cent. and 15 per cent. take-up rates if purchasing those additional years were available only to those who already had (A) 10 years or more, (B) 15 years and (C) 20 years or more national insurance contributions in (1) 2010, (2) 2020, (3) 2030, (4) 2040 and (5) 2050; and if he will estimate the costs of such purchases in each case.

Mike O'Brien: The information has been placed in the Library.

National Insurance Contributions

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library a copy of the review his Department conducted of the options to buy additional years of National Insurance contributions for people with broken work records; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The Government considered all the available information and analysis of the data available to it in considering the options, including the views of stakeholders, when it decided to make no changes to the current class 3 national insurance contribution rules. The Government explained their reasons for the decision through their answer to Baroness Hollis on 17 December 2007,  Official Report, House of Lords, column 467.

Pensions: Females

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of paying pension credit to women who do not qualify for the full state pension due to broken National Insurance contribution records; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: In 2006-07, the estimated expenditure on pension credit paid to women who do not receive a full basic state pension was around 1.25 billion.
	All our estimates of the cost of the options to allow people to buy extra voluntary national insurance contributions to increase their basic state pension take into account offsets in income-related benefits, including pension credit.
	 Notes:
	1. Data are taken from a 5 per cent. extract of Pensions Strategy Computer System, therefore figures are subject to a degree of sampling variation.
	2. Figures are rounded and expenditure is calibrated to official DWP pension credit annual expenditure figures for 2006-07.
	3. The current full rate of state pension used is as at March 2007, which was 84.25 per week.
	4. Expenditure figures are shown in 2006-07 prices.